TNT Thinks Social Media Is Going to Locate Missing People

This is a great idea.

Since social media became a popular phrase used by humans, Hollywood has been tinkering with ways to integrate it into your television habits. With the clutter-your-screen-with-hashtags sector getting old, TNT has decided to put a new spin on things: It has greenlit a show where viewers use social media to reunite lost people with their friends and family.

Sure, nothing can go wrong with that.

Starting in January, a new reality-slash-investigative series with noted “missing persons expert” Troy Dunn with scour the nation looking for lost people with the assistance of your tweets, hashtags and, of course, an app. It sounds, at least, slightly more competent than Unsolved Mysteries: r/FindBostonBombers because the show uses an app as a “modern twist” to find missing persons and no mindless guesses from Imgur.

“APD with Troy Dunn” is slated to air after your mom’s favorite show “Cold Justice” early next year.

Betabeat is now the newly launched Innovation section of the Observer. All your favorite features and columns—as well as exciting new areas of tech coverage—can now be found at Observer.com/Innovation.

Don't miss the latest and best writing on technology and the future of business innovation. Add the Innovation section to your RSS feed and follow the Observer on Twitter and Facebook.